


Merlin and Arthur's High School Reunion

by isyotm



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Love, M/M, Romance, School Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-24
Updated: 2014-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-09 19:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isyotm/pseuds/isyotm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwen and Merlin both have people they're hoping to see when they make plans to attend their ten-year high school reunion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merlin and Arthur's High School Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be funny but it ended up being kind of sad.

“If we duck out now, we can pretend we were never here.”

_“Merlin.”_

“Please?”

“No.”

“But _Gwen_ —”

“One lap around the ballroom. I promise.”

An incredulous pause.

“Do you mean it?”

“I promised, didn’t I? Just let me talk to Morgana—”

“See? You’re already changing the terms of the agreement!”

“Oh, don’t start with me, Merlin. I haven’t seen Morgana in an age.”

“You talked to her yesterday.”

“Yes, but I haven’t _seen_ her in an age.”

“Did she say if…?”

“I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

“‘Didn’t get a chance to—?’ You were on the phone for _three hours_!”

“It didn’t come up.”

Another incredulous pause.

“Not at all?”

“No.”

“There was _no_ opening.”

“None.”

“No point _at all_ when she might’ve mentioned, you know, even just in _passing_ or something—”

“Fine! I forgot, okay? Are you happy? I forgot. I forgot to ask.”

“Oh, great. Oh, just wonderful. After everything I do for you, you throw me to the wolves.”

“They’re not _wolves_ , Merlin. They’re our friends. Well, they used to be our friends. I mean, I guess technically they could still be called our friends. I mean, they’re probably going to be friend _ly_ , and there’s still probably some kind of, like, residual fondness based on nostalgia and shared experiences, but—”

“Names please?” Gwen’s soliloquy was interrupted by the attendant, a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 17. Merlin guessed she must’ve been a volunteer or a severely underpaid part-time lackey.

“Guinevere Thomas.”

“And Merlin Emrys.”

The girl scanned her eyes down a list of names before locating the two they had given. She checked them off and nodded towards the door without looking up. “Go ahead. Don’t forget your name tags on the way inside.”

“Thank you,” Gwen said, leading the way.

They were taking their coats off inside when Merlin whispered in her ear, “Please.”

“No, Merlin.”

“Why are we even here? Ten years hasn’t changed the fact that a lot of these people only liked me for homework help. I doubt anyone even expected me to show up.”

Gwen turned to him with a wicked gleam in her eye. “And since when do you do what people expect?”

She had a point there.

He sighed and resigned himself to an evening of chugging drink after drink.

* * *

 

Gwen was just starting on her third lap around the ballroom when she caught sight of Lance.

And stopped.

And stared.

Merlin grinned. He’d noticed Lance when they’d first walked in: Tall, lean, a little out of place, and somewhat overwhelmed by all the attention he was receiving. The Marines had clearly been good to him and their former classmates had noticed. Merlin decided to be a Good Samaritan and go save his old friend.

“Hey, Lance.” He waved, casually cutting through the swarm to stand next to the other man. “Long time no see.”

“Merlin,” Lance said, relief clear in his eyes. “Good to see you.” He turned to his admirers. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“How’ve you been? You look good.”

Lance looked away, embarrassed. “I—Uh—Thank you. You-you too.”

Merlin snorted. “I look exactly the same, you mean.”

“No, you’re…taller. Or something. Something’s different.”

Merlin pointed at his head. “You caught me. It’s the haircut.”

Lance chuckled. “Your personality’s the same as ever.”

“And yours. Still shy, I see.”

Lance shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not used to that kind of attention.”

“Really? Even when you walk around in your dress blues?”

He shrugged. “Mostly it’s just senior officers’ wives, you know?”

Merlin looked up to see Gwen making her way towards them. “Well, there aren’t too many of those here. Mostly single women. Speaking of, you remember Gwen, right?” He pulled his friend towards them.

Lance froze. “Gwen.”

“Lance.”

“H-hello.”

“Hi. Um, how are you? You look…great.”

“And—and you.”

“Lance has been serving in the Marine Corps since we graduated,” Merlin supplied helpfully, hoping to move the conversation along.

“Oh?” Gwen asked. “How is that?”

“Oh, uh, you know.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Merlin deadpanned. “And neither do I. Do you travel a lot? Is there a lot of yelling?”

Lance laughed. “Not as much as you would think, now that I’m a little higher up in the ranks. I’ve been in Japan for the past three years. I’m on leave right now though.”

“Japan? Where?” Gwen asked.

“Okinawa?” Lance said uncertainly. “You might not have—”

“My brother lives there,” Gwen cut in with an eager voice. “He’s been sending me postcards and…”

Merlin drifted away from them to grab another drink from the open bar. He figured it was safe to leave them alone now that the conversational wheels had been greased up.

He flopped into a chair on the other side of the room and sipped his wine, keeping an eye on the two of them. _It’s like no time has passed at all,_ he thought. _But I guess when it’s “true love”… Hopefully this time they won’t let it go to waste. Someone deserves a happy ending._

He viciously nipped that thought in the bud. He wouldn’t dwell on something so unpleasant. Maybe later, when he was alone in his room in his apartment, he would gently pull out that box of memories and go over each one, well-worn around the edges like old photographs, but not right now. Not when he was surrounded by people who had only ever known him in his gawky, awkward phase. _Best foot forward._

* * *

 

An hour later, Lance and Gwen seemed to remember that there had initially been a third member of their party and went to go find Merlin. They flopped into the seats on either side of him and Gwen put her feet up on the empty chair to her right.

“These shoes were a bad idea,” she groaned, slipping off one heel and rubbing the ball of her foot.

“You two should go dance,” Merlin said.

“Maybe in a few minutes,” Gwen said absently, smiling shyly at Lance across the table. Merlin fondly rolled his eyes.

“If you say so.”

“Would either of you like something to drink?” Lance asked.

“Sprite for me,” Gwen said.

“I’m good. Thanks,” Merlin said.

As soon as Lance wandered off, Gwen turned to Merlin. “Guess you haven’t seen him, huh?”

“No.”

“Have you _looked_?”

“No.” _If he’s here, he’ll find me. That’s the way it is. That’s the way it’s always been._

“Merlin…”

“You should dance with Lance,” Merlin repeated. He rolled the words over in his head and grinned. “‘Dance with Lance.’ It rhymes. Now you _have_ to.”

Gwen shook her head, a small smile on her face. “When he comes back. But only if you make me a promise.”

“Why? You already broke yours,” Merlin reminded her petulantly.

“I said we’d leave when I got a chance to see Morgana. I haven’t seen her yet.”

“What’s the promise?”

“You talk to him. Before we go.”

The sleepiness that had been weighing down his limbs disappeared as his heart jumped and began to race inside his chest. _No._ His mouth formed the word, but no sound came out.

“I think you two should talk. Just to say hello.” Gwen lowered her voice, looking into his eyes with concern. “I think it would be good for you.”

 _Just leave me with my dreams._ “I can’t talk to him if he’s not here,” Merlin said. He attempted to color the words with humor, but they mostly just came out sounding sad.

“Where there’s Morgana, you know he can’t be far behind.”

“But you haven’t seen her.”

“Yet.”

Lance returned with the drinks. “A Sprite for the lady.”

Gwen accepted the glass with a bright smile and pink cheeks. “Thank you, good sir.”

They sat in silence, letting the lights and music wash over them. Most of the reunion-goers had moved to the dance floor by now and, helped along by the alcohol, were proceeding to cut loose with varying amounts of success.

“I had no idea Pellinore could move like that,” Lance said, pointing to a former member of their football team.

“I wish I _still_ had no idea,” Merlin muttered. Gwen laughed.

“Could I trouble you for a dance, my lady?” Lance asked across the table.

Merlin winked at Gwen when she flicked a glance at him. She nodded at Lance and extended her hand. He took it, held it almost reverently in his own, and led her to the dance floor.

Merlin watched them go, his mind in another time, at another dance, watching another couple make their way to the dance floor.

He pushed his empty glass away with disgust. _When are you going to let go?_ Ten years was a long time to hold on to the memory of someone who wasn’t there.

 _Is it even a crush anymore, or just a habit?_ Because it wasn’t…the L-word. It couldn’t be.

_We were so young. I didn’t even know what I wanted. I still don’t._

That was one thing Merlin had thought would change with the advent of adulthood. But being here had proven that ten years may have changed some things, but it couldn’t change who he was.

_I’m still just Merlin. I’ll always be just—_

“Merlin?”

He froze. When he was little, he remembered going to the zoo and hearing the zookeeper talk about possums, how their first line of defense was to go very still and play dead in the hopes that a predator would lose interest and leave.

“Merlin? It _is_ you, isn’t it?”

Obviously, it only worked in some situations. He knew there was a step two, something else possums did if playing dead wasn’t effective, but he forgot what it was. He sighed and plastered a smile on his face. _Time to face the music._

“Arthur. How are you?”

Some small, vindictive part of him had hoped that maybe Arthur had peaked in high school, that the intervening years had sapped him of some of that beauty and magnetism that had held Merlin so in thrall during their high school years.

That small, vindictive part of him was severely disappointed. If anything, Arthur had grown into his looks, into his height and broad shoulders and charisma, and confidence radiated from every pore. Even as he sat there, Merlin could feel himself falling under the spell of it once more. _I should’ve known_ , he thought. _A Pendragon never looks anything less than their best._ Even Uther, gray and balding as he was, had always been handsome in his own cold, austere sort of way. Like the plain metal band of Arthur’s heirloom ring.

“Good.” Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and Merlin ignored the thrill that raced under his skin. Physical contact between them had always been so rare; a luxury Merlin never allowed himself to indulge in, a rare gift Arthur never seemed inclined to offer him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah. You too.” Merlin wasn’t even sure if it was a lie or not. But sitting here, next to Arthur, watching as the lights flickered across his blond hair and over the suit and tie that he would’ve mocked once upon a time, he knew that he had been lying to himself. Lying ever since he’d watched Arthur walk away from their graduation and out of his life. The truth hit him now, a powerful blow but not a surprising one:

_I never once stopped thinking about you. I never once stopped loving you._

He ground his teeth to keep the words from coming out. Who would want to hear that? That wasn’t romantic. It was creepy. It was pathetic. Arthur was a different person now. He had moved on. Merlin was in love with nothing more than a memory.

“I’m surprised you’re here,” Merlin said.

“Morgana’s idea.”

“Oh, so she _is_ here. Gwen’ll be glad to hear it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She said she wouldn’t leave until she saw her.”

Arthur nodded. He seemed to be debating something before he asked, “And you?”

“What about me?”

“Were you…” Arthur paused, looking like he was considering something, and changed tacks. “I didn’t expect to see you here either.”

“Yeah.” He had been hoping the night would give him closure, a chance to say goodbye to the dreams he still held, to close the door on this part of his life and move onto the next, but seeing Arthur had ripped a hole right through all those plans. “Gwen’s idea, I guess.”

“Are you two…?”

Merlin laughed. “I may be older, but I’m still gay, Arthur.” He made a face. “Despite all your dad’s insisting, it wasn’t a phase.”

Something around Arthur’s mouth tightened. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

The music washed over them, something with a heavy bass beat that was popular when they were high school students, when they were sitting at these tables in this ballroom celebrating homecoming and prom and crowning their courts, spellbound by the ephemeral beauty of the night and the belief that they would be young forever.

Arthur didn’t answer. Instead, he nodded at where Gwen and Lance were swirling around the dance floor. They seemed to be lost in their own world, moving like the DJ was playing a waltz instead of dance music. “I see she’s dancing with Lance.”

“They’re still crazy about each other.”

Arthur smiled softly, his face finally relaxing into the one that Merlin remembered from the back row of calculus, swapping notes and bad jokes and snacks and hoping they wouldn’t get caught by their ancient, fearsome teacher. “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah. You should’ve seen them. It’s like time stopped when they saw each other again.”

“Why didn’t they ever…?”

“You know how old-fashioned they are. He couldn’t ‘provide for her,’ so he ran away to the Marines instead. And she didn’t want to ‘hold him back,’ so she let him. Plus, he thought she was dating you.”

Arthur groaned and he covered his face with his hands. “That whole misunderstanding was so crazy. All I did was dance with her.”

“It was a slow dance. At prom. After you were crowned prom king,” Merlin reminded him. “Traditionally, that’s something couples do.”

“Only in teen movies.”

“Art imitates life.”

Arthur laughed. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you, Merlin?”

He grinned, but it felt brittle. “That’s what people keep telling me.” _I wish I had. Or that at least my heart had._

He heard clicking and laughing making its way toward them and looked up. “Good dance?” he asked with a smile. Lance and Gwen were hanging off each other, hair dark with sweat and clinging to their necks.

“It is _unbelievably_ hot on that dance floor,” Gwen told them and flopped back down into the chair to Merlin’s right. “Hi, Arthur,” she said, reaching for her glass. She paused, sat up straight, and leaned over Merlin to look Arthur in the eyes. “Hi. Arthur. Hi.”

Arthur blinked, looking between Merlin and Gwen. “Hello, Guinevere,” he said uncertainly. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m great! How are _you_?”

“Doing well.”

“Catching up with Merlin, I see. Getting along, right?”

“Yes, _mother_ ,” Merlin said.

“Well, I think I’m ready for another dance. I really do love this song,” she said too loudly as the music faded away. “Right, Lance?”

“Um…?” Lance said, a little lost.

“We’ll leave you two alone then. Join us when you feel like it. Or not. You know.” Gwen dragged Lance by the hand back out onto the dance floor.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. Merlin barely refrained from smacking himself in the face. Gwen couldn’t have been any more conspicuous than if she’d worn a dress covered in LED lights that kept flashing _I’M INTERRUPTING SOMETHING IMPORTANT_.

“Is everything alright?” Arthur asked with an amused look on his face.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’re right. It’s not like that display just now was completely conspicuous or anything. You couldn’t possibly have anything to say to me, could you?”

Merlin stood abruptly. “Are you thirsty? I’m thirsty. Want anything?”

_“Merlin.”_

_No._ The room felt like it was closing in on him, too hot, too stuffy, too small. He had a brief moment of hysteria where he wondered if he drank too much from the bottle labeled _Drink me_ before he remembered that would’ve made him bigger, not smaller. _Now isn’t the time for_ Alice in Wonderland _trivia._ “Nothing? Got it. Be right back.” He slipped away, leaving Arthur behind.

The fresh air blowing across the balcony washed over him like a soothing wave. He took several deep breaths, letting it clear his head and relieve the pressure in his chest. He’d never liked lying and this? This felt so much like lying.

 _I want to be honest with you but I don’t know how._ He didn’t want his memories of their time together to be tainted by rejection.

But that wasn’t healthy either.

He looked out at the city, the lights of downtown drowning out the stars that Merlin knew were hidden in the blanket of night stretched high above him, and let his mind wander. He remembered a trip to the beach he’d taken with Gwaine, an ex-boyfriend. They’d splashed around in the water all day and as the sun was setting, they’d hauled their aching, sun-burnt bodies onto shore and lay down on the towels they’d spread on the sand. Merlin had turned his head to the side, eyelids so heavy, and seen a young girl standing near the water, the tide tickling her toes, and holding a handful of sand. As she stood, the grains trickled through her fingers and they both watched as she let the breeze carry them away, back to the ocean.

He wished he could do that with his memories of Arthur. _Not lost, not forgotten. Just in the past where they belong._

* * *

 

By the time Gwen found him, Merlin’s hands were cold and his hair was a lost cause.

“Merlin?” she asked. She hissed as another strong gust of wind buffeted the side of the building. “Jeez, it’s cold up here.”

“Seen Morgana?”

“What?”

“I asked if you saw Morgana yet.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“How was she?”

“Good. Asked about you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She always had kind of a soft spot for you.”

Merlin made a face.

“Not like _that_.”

“No, I know that. It’s just. Morgana. Soft. Does not compute.”

Gwen laughed.

“Can we go now?”

“What?”

“You saw Morgana. You saw _Lance_ —” She elbowed him when he shot her a significant look. “And I talked to Arthur. All of the terms of our agreement have been fulfilled.”

“You talked to him but you didn’t _talk_ to him.”

Merlin threw up his hands. “Next you’re going to tell me that we can’t leave until I dance the polka while balancing the punch bowl on my head.”

“Well now that I think about it…”

Merlin groaned.

“I’m serious, Merlin. Just… It’s been so long. And it’s not like you have to see him every day anymore. What could it hurt?”

Logically, the answer was nothing _._ But just the thought of going up to Arthur, of finally saying the words, made him feel like he was falling from the balcony down to the street below.

 _Get it off your chest,_ his mother would say. But his mother wasn’t here. She’d been gone for a long time.

 _I just don’t want to have to watch him walk away again._ If they had to part, it’d be nice to do the leaving for once. Just to balance it out. _But things were never very balanced between us, were they?_ Merlin had been the awkward nerd, still growing into his body, his brain, and his personality, while Arthur was the self-assured golden child in every sense of the word—smart, handsome, athletic, and charismatic. _Not to mention I was in love with you._

“I’m ready to go.”

 _“Merlin…”_ Gwen said, her tone already enough of a reproach.

“Merlin! _There_ you are.”

Merlin’s eyes widened and he stared at Gwen who shook her head furiously. _I didn’t tell him where you were, I swear,_ her expression said.

“You left to get a drink half an hour ago. Have you been out here the whole time?” Arthur pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders. “It’s so windy out here.” He looked surprised to see Gwen, like he hadn’t noticed her standing next to Merlin the whole time. “Gwen! Jeez, how can you stand being out here? You must be freezing. Here.” He pulled his jacket off and offered it to her.

“I’m fine, thank you though. I’m actually headed back inside.” She slid the balcony door open with no small effort and left them alone.

“It’s quite a view from up here,” Arthur said softly, voice hushed in awe of the city lights.

Merlin nodded. It felt like the cold had worked its way inside of him, into his heart, and he felt thousands of miles away from here, from Arthur standing next to him, close enough to reach out and touch, but still too far. He looked down at the street below, the people walking to and from the downtown clubs and wished for a moment he could be one of them, that he had never known an Arthur Pendragon.

And then Arthur turned to him and the thought was wiped away. Even if it hurt, he’d rather not live without having known this, this look on Arthur’s face, this softness in his eyes.

“Gwen keeps leaving us alone together,” Arthur said. “I’m starting to think she’s trying to set us up. You don’t think she locked the door, do you?”

Merlin laughed, the sound of it hollow, abruptly cut off by the strong wind whipping it away from them. “You know Gwen. Once she gets an idea into her head…”

“So what’s the idea she’s gotten into her head this time?” Arthur asked, leaning in closer. His eyes weren’t soft anymore. They made Merlin think of the helicopter searchlights they used for night-time car chases, lighting up everything so there was nowhere left to hide.

“You’d have to ask her. I’m not a mind reader.”

Arthur sighed, slumping over the railing. “You still won’t let me in, will you?”

“Wh-what?”

“I know you and Gwen have your secrets—you’ve known her for how long?”

“Since were ten,” Merlin answered automatically.

“And you have all these…you know, jokes and stuff. But…” Arthur took a deep breath, still resolutely staring out at the city. “I always wanted to be… _more_ to you.”

Merlin felt a shock of pain lance through his heart. “I always considered you my best friend.” _You meant so much to me. You still do. I thought you knew that. I thought everyone did._ He’d always been so afraid that what he felt for Arthur shone out of him every time they were together, that he might as well have written the words on a shirt and worn it everywhere.

Arthur lifted an eyebrow.

“After Gwen, of course.”

He smiled. “Of course.”

They were quiet for a time.

“You’re always so secretive, Merlin. Even now.”

“You haven’t seen me in ten years.”

“Whose fault is that?”

 _“Yours,”_ Merlin snapped. He’d tried. He’d texted Arthur at least once a week, sent him funny pictures and left thoughtful messages for him and never once heard back. “You never replied to anything I sent you.” He’d felt unwanted and so he’d given up.

“Maybe. I’m sorry.”

“Did I hear that right? Did the great Arthur Pendragon just apologize?”

“Don’t gloat. It’s unbecoming.”

Merlin snorted. “You should try taking your own advice sometime.”

The wind abated, its rushing and howling fading away, and faint music from inside floated over them, a slow song that all the couples would be swaying to, dancing in slow circles. Merlin felt like he and Arthur was dancing out here, their conversation skirting around something that neither of them were willing to admit to. _What could you be so afraid of?_

“I wanted to, you know,” Arthur finally said.

“Wanted to what?”

“Respond.”

“So why didn’t you? I thought that would be one of the first things they teach you in etiquette.”

Arthur made a face. “You promised to never bring that up again.”

“I promised I wouldn’t bring it up unless I thought you deserved it.”

“You fool everyone with that innocent face, but you’re actually quite devious, aren’t you, Merlin?”

 _Certainly fooled you._ “I try.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to find a way to loop the conversation back around to what they’d been saying before. “Why didn’t you ever write me back? I…” _Missed you. Felt like I’d lost a part of myself. Would’ve been happy just knowing you were happy with your new life that had no room for me._

“It was…hard. I… There’s so much I didn’t… There are things you can only say in person.”

“Well, we’re in person now.”

“Yeah.” But Arthur didn’t elaborate. Instead, he said, “Pretty sure Gwen’s worse than you, actually.”

“How so?”

 “Blackmailed me into coming.”

Merlin laughed. “That sounds like something Morgana would do.”

“I think it was Morgana’s idea.” Arthur’s surly face was absolutely hilarious and Merlin found himself gasping for breath. “Hey!” Arthur said, nudging Merlin in the shoulder and pushing him off balance. Merlin grabbed the handrails and hung on like a drowning man as he fought to get his breath back.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“Of course not, Merlin, don’t be ridiculous. There are _far_ too many witnesses.”

“How silly of me to forget.”

The door behind them slid open, bringing with it a blast of music and warm air. “Merlin?” Gwen called hesitantly. “Are you ready to go?”

Merlin looked at Arthur and back to her. He’d forgotten there was a world outside the one he and Arthur inhabited out here on the balcony, sniping back and forth just like they used to. _History repeats itself_ , he thought absently. “Uh, what about Lance?” he asked. He hoped maybe he could stall for time, stay out here with Arthur for a little longer, live in this moment for a little longer.

“He has to go.” The disappointment was clear on her face. “He has a flight back to Japan early tomorrow morning.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Gwen said stiffly, betraying how clearly not fine it was. “We exchanged emails so…”

Merlin smiled at her. “That’s great. You guys can keep in touch.”

“Yeah.” She looked pointedly at Arthur. Merlin pretended he didn’t notice.

“I guess we should get going then.” He turned to Arthur and held out his hand for a shake. “It was good seeing you again, Arthur.”

Arthur stared unseeingly at his hand and Merlin wondered for a moment if Arthur would refuse it. But then Arthur grasped it in his cool, strong palm and replied, “You too, Merlin.”

Their eyes met for a moment as they shook hands and Merlin could feel an equal mixture of love and agony welling up inside of him. He looked away before it became evident in his expression.

“Maybe I’ll see you around,” Merlin added just for something to say. A meaningless phrase, more politeness than promise.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Merlin followed Gwen back through the balcony doors and into the ballroom, leaving Arthur behind, looking lost and alone against the backdrop of the city at night. 

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you,” Gwen said as they gathered coats.

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t say anything, did you?”

“Are you kidding me? I had no else to talk to after you ran off with Lance!”

“You _know_ what I mean.”

“He just wanted to catch up, Gwen. That’s all.” _He only wants to be friends. Friends who see each other once every ten years._ Merlin could do that. He could be that, if only because it was what Arthur asked of him.

Gwen sighed and pushed open the heavy door, gesturing for Merlin to go first.

“Not very chivalrous of you, Merlin, but then you always were such a girl.”

Merlin didn’t dare turn around. He looked at Gwen instead, seeking confirmation which she granted with a short sharp nod of her head. “I’ll get the car.” She fled.

“Leaving already?” Merlin said lightly.

“Yeah. The company isn’t very good anymore.”

“Anymore?”

Arthur looked up at Merlin from under his lashes. _No. Don’t you dare._ Merlin had seen that look before. It was the one Arthur used when he was trying to convince someone to give him what he wanted, when he was asking someone out he thought he had no chance with. _No, no, no._ “The only person I came here to see is leaving.”

“Well, you’d better go catch them,” Merlin said, but it came out breathless instead of teasing.

“Luckily, I did.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And I’m glad, because I forgot to give them something.”

“And what would that be?”

Arthur leaned in close, closer than he had out on the balcony, and this time Merlin could smell the expensive cologne on him, feel the heat of Arthur’s skin radiating against his, the brush of Arthur’s hair against his ear. He felt the lightest brush of lips against his cheek as Arthur’s hand slipped into his coat pocket. “This.”

Merlin felt like a volcano, his blood hot and rushing beneath his skin like molten lava, filling him with warmth from head to toe. If he didn’t get out of there soon, he had no doubt he would do something disastrous to ruin the moment. Already, he could feel a slightly hysterical teasing remark on the tip of his tongue, something about how Arthur must’ve been practicing that because he wasn’t usually so smooth.

“Oh,” he whispered instead.

“Yeah. Could you make sure they get it?” Arthur asked as he pulled away, looking nervous and uncertain.

“I suppose. Always making me do favors for you.”

“I know.”

“I’ll have to get my revenge one of these days.”

The sight of Arthur’s smile, relieved and happy, made the heat in his body abate to a more bearable level. “I guess you will.”

A loud car horn honked twice outside. Merlin peeked out to see Gwen looking at him with concern. He gave her a discreet thumbs-up and she beamed, her mouth opened in a silent whoop.

“See you around, Arthur,” Merlin said, but this time it sounded more like a promise than a farewell.

Arthur kissed his cheek again, this time letting his lips and nose linger. “See you around, Merlin,” he said quietly and stepped away, watching as Merlin climbed into the car and drove away.


End file.
